Chain machine for the production of wood chips or shavings



May 18, 1937. G. BRAVI 2,080,557

CHAIN MACHINE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF WOOD CHIPS OR SHAVINGS Filed Jan. 5, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTOR NBYS May 18, 1937. G. BRAVl 2,030,557

CHAIN MACHINE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF WOOD CHIPS OR SHAVINGS Filed Jan. 5, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ama fwv 'ATTORNEYS Patented May 18, 1937 UNITED STATES CHAIN MACHINE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF WOOD CHIPS R SHAVINGS Giuseppe Bravi, Varese, Italy Application January 5, 1935, Serial No. 492

- In-Italy January 12, 1934 7 Claims.

This invention relates to a machine for making wood shavings and wall and the like, with particular reference to an endless chain upon said machine which is driven upon a suitable frame partly in a semi-circular and particularly in a rectilinear direction and is provided with cutting and grooving devices for cutting the wood to be operated upon by the machine and rollers for carrying said chain.

The main object of my invention is to produce wood shavings and wall of uniform thickness while consuming a minimum of power and producing a uniformly ample delivery of the shavings even when such shavings are of relatively small size.

Another object is to have a machine of'the character indicated which is so well designed that all the parts contribute very appreciably in producing as great and uniform amount of shavings at as little cost as possible, while particularly preventing the cutting knives or the wood shavings from being forced backward by the effect of the cutting pressure or any other conditions arising through the operation of the machine.

Further objects and the various advantages of my invention will become more clearly apparent as this specification proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings forming part hereof- Figure 1 shows one of the two faces of the machine, partly in section;

Figure 2 is a plan of the machine, partly in section, along the line AB of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a side view of the machine without the chain carrying the incision and cutting devices, or the operating chain;

Figure 4 is a detailed view of a part of this chain;

Figure 5 is a sectional view across this part;

Figure 6 shows a constructional detail of one of the chains of the feeding devices having multiple gears;

Figure 7 is a plan view of a part of the said chain and of the multiple gears;

Figure 8 shows, in sectional view, details of a link of the operating chain, with a view of one of the incision devices; and

Figure 9 is a partial view of an incision device.

Referring to the drawings, Figures 1 and 2, I indicates the framework on which there is mounted the operating chain 2, which is actuated by the driving shaft 3, on which there are mounted the two wheels I, 5, which are provided with recesses or cavities 6 for the conveyance of the operating chain 2, which at the two ends of each of its pins 1 carries rollers 8, which are so shaped as to fit perfectly into the said recesses 6. On the said driving shaft 3 there is mounted a flywheel or gear wheel 9 to which there is imparted the necessary power for driving the machine.

By III, II, I2 and I3 there are indicated the devices for the advancement or the feeding of the wood I4, I5, to be converted into chips or shavings, which wood is pushed, by means of pairs of cylindrical gear wheels and chains I6, I'I; I8, I9; 20, 2 I; and 22, 23, against the blades mounted on the operating chain 2 on the two sides of the machine. The parts IUI2 of the feeding devices arranged at the top are fixed to the framework I, while the lower parts II and I3 can be raised and lowered by means of screws 24 and 25, so as to obtain the desired distance necessary for working with wood of varying lengths. In the same Figure 1 there are shown the automatic devices 26 and 21, actuated by a double gear 28 and the chains 29 and 30, which in their turn impart the movement to the two gears 3| and 32, and thus, by means of the spindles 33 and 34, to the pairs of bevel wheels 35, 36 connected with the long shaft 31, and to the other similar one, shown in Figure 2, which, by means of worms 3839, 404I (shown in Figure 3), cause the rotation in the desired direction and at the desired speed of the devices for obtaining the various thicknesses of the shavings. In the said Figure 1 there is seen one of the semicircular, chain-stretching sectors 42 which, in addition to serving as lower guide for the operating chain, by means of the screws 43 and 44 in the side which can be seen and a further set of two screws in the opposite side which can not be seen, also serves to obtain the desired degree of tension in the chain. The prolongations I2, 13, I4, I5 of the feeding devices allow a supply of wood to be placed there, which is made to advance by means of a device with counterweight and chain of any desired shape and which is not shown in the drawings, and whose object is to push the wood in the directions indicated by the arrows, that is to say, towards the mouth of the cylinders. By there is indicated a window, through which the shavings are discharged.

The plan view in accordance with Figure 2 shows in a special manner the construction of the framework I, and also of the operating chain 2 with the rollers 8 arranged in the appropriate recesses 6 of the driving wheels 4 and 5, mounted on the driving shaft 3, on which there are also mounted the fiywheel l and the gear wheel with double chain 28, which works on a friction cone actuate the operating chain 2 owing to the fact that they have on their peripheries recesses 8 in which engage the rollers I carried by the operating chain 2. In Figure 3, there can also be seen the longitudinal guides 41 and 48, upon which there runs in a straight line the operating chain 2 on its rollers 8, while at its lower part the said chain runs on two semi-circular sectors 42, that are movable in a vertical direction, which also act as chain-stretching devices. There are also shown in Figure 3 the devices for the automatic feeding of the wood and the appropriate operating mechanism 24-25, in a front view, and also the system of transmission of the movement 'of the driving shaft 3 to the chains 52 of the feeding devices by means of pairs of bevel gear wheels 35, long shaft 31, worms 3!], 39, helicoidal wheels 40, 4| and gear wheels 54, on which there are mounted the chains 52 and the lateral walls I6, l1, 18, I9, for guiding the wood, and also the base 49 and the top 50 of the fluted surfaces on which the wood is conveyed.

In Figures 4 and 5 there are shown three links 55 of the operating chain 2, in which I indicates the plus, i the rollers mounted on the ends of the pins the blades are shown at 61, the fixing screws for the said blades are marked '1, the devices for making incisions in the wood are marked ll, the plate for fixing the said incision devices is marked 63, and the opening, through which the shavings II leave, is marked 88. The arrow 68 indicates the direction of movement of the chain.

Figures 6 and 7 show a chain provided with teeth 52, which chain is mounted on two multiple gears 54, adapted to transmit the movement to the multiple chain 5|, each link of which is provided with teeth, whose object is to seize the wood to be worked.

Figures 8 and 9 show details of the construction of a link 55 of the operating chain 2, in which there is provided a fluting in which there are mounted the incision devices 80; by ii there is indicated the resting point of the toothed plate 13 which serves to fix the incision device to the link 55 by means of screws 66; by 56 there is indicated the central spindle with longitudinal key 51, on which there are threaded alternately the small circular plates 50 and the washers 59, which are provided with a surface 60' on which the plate I exerts a pressure from the toothed side to prevent a contact occurring with the circular blades 58, and with another surface 82, only allowing the circular blades to project from the surface of the link 55 to an extent corresponding with the depth of the incision which it is desired to make in the wood.

The method of operation of the machine is as follows. On causing the rotation of the driving shaft 3 in the direction indicated by the arrow and at a suitable speed, the operating chain 2 is obliged to follow the path of the longitudinal guides 41-48, passing below over the two chainstretching sectors 42 and thus following the rear part to return over the guide wheels 4 and I, by

means of which there is also imparted to the incision devices Ill and to the cutting blades II, which are arranged alternately on the links I! of the said operating chain 2, a movement which is partly rotatory and partly rectilinear. The feeding devices for the wood Ill-i I, l2-il, which in the present case are arranged on the two sides of the machine, serve to push the portions of wood arranged in them in a horizontal direction, against the incision devices OI and the blades or cutting implement ll of the operating chain 2, the said blades projecting from each link of the chain to an extent which is equal to the desired thickness of the shavings. The incision devices "produce on the wood, with their small circular plates 58, lines of a depth which corresponds to the thickness of the shaving with a space between the one and the other which corresponds to the desired width of the shaving, in

such a manner that from the surface of the wood thus prepared the cutting implement 61 will take away so many strips (chips or shavings) rather than a sheet. In practicesthe circular blades of the incision devices are situated at a distance from one another which is greater than the width which it is desired to give to the shavings, so as to prevent an excessive accumulation of the shavings between the difi'erent blades, it being possible to obtain the required width of the shavings by arranging a series of incision devices so that they are laterally staggered relatively to one another, and this arrangement also results in a saving of power and a reduced consumption of blades.

The portions of wood are placed on the prolongations ll-l5 in a sufiiclent quantity to fill up the space along its entire length; then, by means of a thrusting device with counterweight and chain (not shown in the drawings), they are pushed against the two chains 52 arranged below and above and whose distance from one another is less by a few millimetres than the length of the, said portions of wood, in such a way that the wood which comes between the two chains I2 is tightly held between the teeth of the chains so that it cannot be thrown back when it comes into contact with the operating chain 2, the said chains 52 being supported by the gear cylinders and by fixed supports 05 on which the chains 52 restso as not to slacken the grip on the wood of the teeth of the link 5| of the chain l2.

The feeding of the wood is controlled automaticany and the speed of feeding can be varied, either by changing the chain gear wheels which impart the movement. or by a fixedchange-speed gear in which all the required to the chains I2, in the direction indicated by the arrows.

It is understood that the description which is given above and the accompanying drawings are intended to serve only as examples, and that the constructional details of the machine may vary in accordance with the purposes to which it is to be put, without thereby departing from the scope of the invention. Thus, for example, instead of cutting implements and incision devices, there could be arranged on the operating chain suitably shaped blades to permit the machine to function as a carving or smoothing machine for wood or other material.

What I claim is:-

1. In a chain drive machine for producing wood shavings, excelsior and the like, an endless cutter chain mounted upon drive wheels and provided with cutters, a track upon said machine, guide rollers upon each link of said chain riding upon said track serving to support and guide the chain upon the rails, means causing the drive wheels to positively engage with and transmit motion to said chain, and a plurality of spaced rotatable and parallel slitting knives mounted upon each link, there being means for preventingsaid knives from entering more than a predetermined distance into the wood being cut and also preventing the shav ings being cut and slitted from rolling up or returning and becoming entangled in the cutters.

2. In a chain drive machine for producing wood shavings, excelsior and the like, an endless cutter chain consisting of similar links connected by transverse pins and individually provided with shaving cutters, a track and peripherally recessed drive wheels upon said machine, rollers mounted upon the pin of each link exteriorly thereto and engaging in the recesses in said drive wheels so as to cause said chain to be positively driven by said drive wheels, a plurality of spaced rotatable and parallel slitting knives mounted upon each link in spaced relation with said cutters, and means for preventing said knives from entering more than a predetermined distance into the wood being cut and also preventing the shavings being out and slitted from rolling up or returning and becoming entangled in the cutters.

3. A chain drive machine according to claim 1, wherein the means for preventing the slitting "i knives from entering excessively into the wood the wood being cut and directly upon the shavings during cutting and slitting thereof.

4. A chain drive machine according to claim 2, wherein the means for preventing the slitting knives from entering excessively into the wood and preventing the shavings from rolling up comprises a plurality of discs mounted upon a shaft carrying said slitting knives and spacing said slitting knives apart, said discs bearing upon the wood being out and directly upon the shavings during cutting and slitting thereof.

5. A chain drive machine according to claim 2, wherein the slitting knives upon each link are spaced apart a greater distance than the width intended for the shavings to be cut and are staggered with respect to the slitting knives upon the next adjacent link so that the slitting performed by said slitting knives is intermediate that performed by the knives of the next link in the series.

6. A chain drive machine according to claim 1, wherein the means for preventing the slitting knives from entering excessively into the wood and preventing the shavings from rolling up comprises a plurality of discs mounted upon a shaft carrying said slitting knives and spaces said slitting knives apart, said discs bearing upon the wood being cut and directly upon the shavings during cutting and slitting thereof, said discs being also provided with a flattened portion and each link being provided with a fixing member projecting against the flattened portion upon each disc to prevent rotation thereof during rotation of the slitting knives.

'7. A chain drive machine according to claim 2, wherein the means for preventing the slitting knives from entering excessively into the wood and preventing the shavings from rolling up comprises a plurality of discs mounted upon a shaft carrying said slitting knives and spacing said slitting knives apart, said discs bearing upon the wood being out and directly upon the shavings during cutting and slitting thereof, said discs being also provided with a flattened portion and each link being provided with a fixing member projecting against the flattened portion upon each disc to prevent rotation thereof during rotation of the slitting knives.

GIUSEPPE BRAVI. 

